How many marriages of commitment survive till “death do us part”? I ask this to highlight that a three-decade-old social construct called the man-child (“The rise of the man-child”, Sunday Life 29/6) reflects nothing other than a conformist, conservative and conventional idea that to be married and be-kidded is indeed to be an adult. Marriages fail for many complex reasons, and men who choose not to marry and have children are not necessarily afraid of commitment per se, but simply choosing another avenue and a lifestyle of their own making.
They are not just well-disguised Peter Pans seeking to stay forever young, but simply opting for a less restrictive way of life. So, too, women, as I have done. Sadly for some, our society sanctions marriage, living in suburbia with the 2.2 children and 2.4 cars as a desirable norm for responsible adults. Dare you challenge this so-called norm by refusing to live that way, society condemns you as a mere child masquerading as an adult.
As a society we must jettison the destructive labels so glibly attached to those who choose not to marry to enable men and women a real freedom of choice without childish connotations.